Water and debris recovery system

ABSTRACT

The present system relates to a water and debris recovery system for a water blasting device suitable for mounting upon the frame of a mobile vehicle for easy transport and use. The system includes a liquid reservoir connected to a high pressure fluid pump for directing ultra-high pressure water through a blast head to remove the coatings or markings from a surface. The blast head includes a shroud which surrounds the blasting area to at least partially contain the water and debris dislodged from the surface. A vacuum pump is secured to the shroud with the vacuum passing through a cyclone type separator, allowing the water and debris to settle to the bottom portion of the cyclone. The tank includes a floating floor and bladder assembly that allows the same space to be utilized for clean as well as dirty water while maintaining separation of the two.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

In accordance with 37 C.F.R 1.76, a claim of priority is included in anApplication Data Sheet filed concurrently herewith. Accordingly, thepresent invention claims priority as a Continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/696,188, entitled “WATER AND DEBRIS RECOVERYSYSTEM”, filed Apr. 24, 2015, which claims priority to U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 61/984,540, entitled “WATER AND DEBRIS RECOVERYSYSTEM”, filed Apr. 25, 2014, and claims priority as aContinuation-in-Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/767,442,entitled “WATER AND DEBRIS RECOVERY SYSTEM”, filed on Feb. 14, 2013,which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application 61/598,763,entitled “WATER AND DEBRIS RECOVERY SYSTEM”, filed on Feb. 14, 2012. Thecontents of each of the above referenced applications are hereinincorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to the field of high pressure water cleaningdevices for highways, airport runways, parking decks, subway stations,ships and other hard surfaces.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Surface cleaning apparatus, such as pressure washers, are useful forcleaning a variety of objects. Such devices require a clean supply ofwater for proper operation, hut create wastewater by entraining solidsfrom the cleaned surface into the used source water. Although there aremany types of pressure washing systems, a typical system utilizes anengine that powers a pump. The inlet side of the pump is connected to alow pressure water source such as a tank or a municipal water supply,while the high pressure side of the pump is connected to a high pressurehose and wand for controlling the flow of high pressure water generatedby the pump. The high pressure water is directed at a surface todislodge dirt, paint and the like, and the water is generally allowed todrain into the storm sewer.

Ultra-high pressure washers, supplying more than 25,000 P.S.I. are alsoknown. These systems include a large engine, typically diesel, whichoperates a large multi-cylinder pump to generate high volumes of waterat ultra-high pressures. The ultra-high pressure water is directedthrough piping and/or hoses to various types of blast heads suitable forcontrolling the flow and direction of the ultra-high pressure water. Oneparticular use for ultra-high pressure water devices is the removal ofstripes or other markings from road surfaces. When polymers such aspaint or plastic are used for roadway marking, the surface of thepavement s penetrated from ⅛-⅜ inch; whereby water blasting is the onlyknown method of removing the stripe material from below the surfacewithout removing a portion of the roadway surface. Ultra-high pressurewater washers are also utilized for removing paint from ships, cleaningindustrial facilities, removing graffiti, removing rubber from aircraftrunways and demolition.

One problem associated with both low and ultra-high pressure watercleaning equipment is maintaining an adequate supply of clean water forcontinuous operation of the system. Dirty or contaminated water causesnumerous problems with water cleaning equipment such as excessive pumpwear, clogged filters, nozzles, screens and the like. Because cleaningoften needs to take place away from municipal water supplies, water isoften transported to the cleaning site. Because the water cleaningequipment requires large volumes of water to be effective, additionalequipment is needed to haul in tanks of water. Alternatively, cleaningmust be stopped so that additional water may be obtained.

The problem of hauling sufficient water to a job site with the truck isexacerbated by the vacuum tanks used to recover the water and debris.The vacuum tanks are large, and therefore must be made incredibly strongto stand up to the vacuum pressure applied over the large internalsurface area. The required strength adds significant weight to theassembly, and thus to the vehicle carrying the tank, reducing the amountof clean water than can be carried by the same vehicle for blasting thesurface.

Therefore, what is needed in the art is a system for recovering waterand debris from a waterblasting or water demolition project that doesnot require a vacuum tank to retain all of the water and debriscollected from the blast head. The system should utilize vacuum forrecovery of the water and debris, which can then be pumped to an opentop tank for dewatering or disposal. The debris tank should double as afresh water tank whereby the clean and dirty water are maintainedseparately. The tank should also be equipped with a filter bag fordewatering the debris from the dirty water for improved disposal of thewaste. The recovery system should be compact for mounting on varioustypes of vehicles, trailer and skids.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Briefly, disclosed is a water and debris recovery system for a waterblasting device, water demolition system, vacuum truck or the like; thesystem being suitable for mounting upon the frame of a mobile vehiclefor easy transport and use. The system includes a liquid reservoirconnected to a high pressure fluid pump for directing ultra-highpressure water through a blast head to remove the coatings or markingsfrom a surface. The blast head is mounted on a vehicle and includes ashroud which surrounds the blasting area to at least partially containthe water and debris dislodged from the surface. A vacuum pump issecured to the shroud, with the vacuum passing through a cyclone typeseparator, allowing the water and debris to settle to the bottom portionof the cyclone while the air is allowed to vent to the atmosphere. Aunique debris pump containing a rotary valve is then utilized totransfer the collected water and debris into an open top tank or othertank not containing vacuum for transport or dewatering. The water tankdoubles as a debris tank to conserve space and reduce weight of thevehicle while also providing increased run time for the device.

Accordingly, it is an objective of the present invention to provide awater and debris recovery system which can be readily transported.

It is a further objective of the present invention to provide a waterand debris recovery system that does not need a vacuum tank for therecovery and storage of the recovered water and debris.

It is yet another objective of the present invention to provide a uniquedebris pump suitable for transferring water and debris from a vacuumseparator to a non-vacuum debris tank.

It is still another objective of the present invention to provide adebris pump suitable for transfer of sticky polymeric materials.

It is still yet another objective of the present invention to provide anon-vacuum debris tank that contains fresh and dirty water.

It is still yet a further objective of the present invention to providea debris tank that includes a bladder for the containment of a firsttype of water while a second type of water is contained around thebladder in the same tank.

Still yet another objective of the present invention is to provide adebris tank with a floating floor supported by a bladder filled with afirst type of water.

Yet another objective of the present invention is to provide a debristank that contains two types of separated water wherein one type of thewater may be dumped by tilting the debris tank without dumping thesecond type of water.

Still yet another objective of the present invention is to provide adebris tank that contain clean water and dirty water and dewateredsludge.

An even further objective of the present invention is to provide adebris tank that includes a bladder for clean water and a filter bag fordewatering a dirty which is also stored in the same tank as the bladder.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent fromthe following description taken in conjunction with any accompanyingdrawings wherein are set forth, by way of illustration and example,certain embodiments of this invention. Any drawings contained hereinconstitute a part of this specification and include exemplaryembodiments of the present invention and illustrate various objects andfeatures thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of the water and debris recoverysystem of the present invention, illustrated with a rotary valve typepump;

FIG. 2 is a top perspective view of one embodiment of the debris pumpand vacuum separator of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a bottom perspective view of one embodiment of the debris pumpand vacuum separator of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is an end view of one embodiment of the debris pump and vacuumseparator of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a section view taken along lines 5-5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a bottom view of one embodiment of the debris pump and vacuumseparator of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a side view of one embodiment of the debris pump and vacuumseparator of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a section view taken along lines 8-8 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view taken along lines 8-8 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is a side view of one embodiment of the present inventionillustrated in use on a road marking removal truck;

FIG. 11 is a side view of one embodiment of the present inventionillustrated in use on vacuum tank truck;

FIG. 12 is a section view of the preferred embodiment of the debristank, illustrated full of clean water;

FIG. 13 is a section view of the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 12,illustrated with clean water dirty water and dewatered debris; and

FIG. 14 is a section view of the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 12,illustrated with clean water dirty water and dewatered debris.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIG. 1, one embodiment of the water and debris recoverysystem 10 is illustrated. The system begins at the blast head 12 wherefresh water 4 from debris tank 6 is directed through ultra-high pressurepump 8 to create high pressure water 15 which is directed throughnozzles 14 secured to rotationally mounted spray bar 16. The highpressure water 15 impinges on the surface 18, removing surface markingsas well as any loose debris which is trapped within the shroud 19.Vacuum pump 20 provides a negative air flow through the shroud 19 todraw the water and debris into tube 22. The vacuum pump 20 is preferablya roots type blower, however, any pump or fan suitable for creatingsufficient vacuum, e.g. negative air pressure, to transfer the water anddebris is suitable. It should be noted that vacuum may be developed bythe rotating spray bar 16 which may include airfoils or the like whichdevelop negative air pressure during rotation of the spray bar. Itshould also be noted that devices such as centrifugal blowers may bepositioned close to the blast head to provide positive pressure throughthe tube 22 for forcing the water and debris through the tube. Water anddebris from tube 22 is directed into a separation assembly 11 includinga separator, which is preferably a one or two stage cyclonic separator24, which allows the water and debris to fall out of the vacuum air flowinto the bottom portion 26 of the separator 24. An air filter 43 may beprovided to prevent small particles from entering the vacuum pump 20.Rotary valve 36 of the debris pump 28 then draws or allows the water anddebris mix to pass, via gravity, through debris port 30 into a transfercavity 29 of the debris pump 28. The rotary valve 36 rotates at apredetermined speed to seal along the barrel 31 of the debris pump toprevent vacuum from being applied to the debris tank 42 whiletransferring the water and debris from the cyclonic separator 24 to thedebris tank 42. This cycle continues until the water and debris mix istransferred into the open or non-vacuum debris tank 42. The debris pump28 preferably includes at least rotary valve 36 which allows vacuum tobe maintained within the cyclonic separator while preventing the vacuumfrom being applied to the debris tank 42. The rotary valve is preferablysecured to a fluid or electrically driven motor which includes avariable speed controller to control the rotational speed of the rotaryvalve to regulate the speed and volume of fluid and debris transferredto the debris tank 42. The debris tank 42 is preferably an open top tankthat may be constructed from any material suitable in the art forconstructing tanks. The system may be mounted on a vehicle, skid,trailer or any other suitable means for supporting the system. Thedebris tank 42 may also include a filter bag 41 or the like suitablysecured within the debris tank 42 to allow the solid debris to bedewatered through a valve 45. The debris tank 42 may also includetilting or other dumping mechanisms 60 (FIG. 12) which allow the tank tobe easily emptied without departing from the scope of the invention.

Referring to FIGS. 1-9, various views of a preferred embodiment of thecyclonic separator 24 and debris pump 28 are illustrated. The cyclonicseparator 24 includes an inlet 44 for the traversal of air, water anddebris into the cyclonic separator, a vacuum port 46 for application ofvacuum and a debris port 30 for transfer of fluid and debris out of thecyclonic separator. In the preferred embodiment, the inlet 44 is fluidlyconnected to the shroud 19 of the blast head 12 via tube 22. Tube 22 issized to allow for the transfer of fluid and debris from the blast head12 without significant restriction. Vacuum port 46 is preferablypositioned at the top portion of the cyclonic separator 24, and is sizedto allow transfer of a suitable volume of air to allow the fluid anddebris to be drawn through tube 22. Positioned within the cyclonicseparator is a filter 43. The filter is removable and replaceable toallow cleaning and replacement thereof. In a preferred embodiment, thefilter is a paper element that may include pre-filter covers and thelike to prevent small particles from entering the vacuum pump 20. Cloth,gauze, foam or the like may be utilized in place of the paper elementwithout departing from the scope of the invention. The bottom portion 26of the separator 24 is suitably sized to retain a portion of the fluidand debris until the rotary valve can transfer the fluid and debris tothe debris tank 42. Positioned at the bottom portion of the separator 24is a debris port 30 suitably connected to the debris pump 28. The debrispump 28 generally includes a barrel 31, rotary valve 36 and motor 50.The barrel 31 may be any size and length suitable to transfer the volumeof fluid and debris being removed and collected to a debris tank 42. Inthe preferred embodiment, the debris pump 28 is secured directly to thetop of the debris tank 42 to allow fluid and debris transferred by thedebris pump 28 to be transferred directly into the debris tank 42. Therotary valve 36 of the preferred embodiments sized to fit into thebarrel and create a substantial seal between the edges of the rotaryvalve and the diameter and end plates of the barrel to maintain vacuumin the cyclonic separator. In one embodiment, the rotary valve 36includes three chambers 29 separated by three vanes 52. The vanespreferably include polymeric wipers 54 which engage the inner diameterand ends of the barrel to maintain a substantial seal therebetween.Metal or polymeric plates 56 retain and position the polymeric wipers toallow for repair and replacement as needed due to abrasion or damage.The vanes are positioned so that debris may enter the top positioned oneor two chambers while the remaining chamber(s) is/are releasing thedebris and fluid into the debris tank through the discharge port 58. Thewipers and retaining plates therefore are preferably constructed from amaterial that resists adhesion to sticky polymers and the like which maybe found on the surfaces being cleaned. It should also be noted thatwhile the rotary valve is depicted with three vanes, any number of vanesmay be utilized which allow for the retention of vacuum in the cyclonicseparator. The motor 50 is preferably a fluid drive motor havingsuitable size to rotate the rotary valve 36 while loaded with debris andfluid. In at least on embodiment, the motor is a hydraulic motor thatincludes a flow control or the like to allow control of the speed ofrotation of the rotary valve. In this manner, the operator can cause therotary valve to operate at a sufficient speed to keep debris from overaccumulating in the bottom portion of the cyclonic separator. It shouldalso be noted that while a hydraulic motor is illustrated, an air orelectric motor along with suitable speed controls may be substitutedwithout departing from the scope of the invention.

Referring to FIGS. 10-14, various embodiments of the water and debrisrecovery system 10 are illustrated in combination with a mark removaltruck 62 (FIG. 10) and vacuum truck 64 (FIG. 11), The trucks generallyinclude an elongated chassis 66 for mounting the debris and recoverysystem and a cabin area 68 for an operator of the truck. Wheels 70, adriveline and a prime mover are secured to the chassis for portabilityof the system. In one embodiment, a crane 72 is secured to the separator24 which allows the separator to be moved for transport of the vehicleor dumping of the debris tank 42. A ramp 74 may be secured to theelongated frame to allow a tractor or the like having a blast headsecured thereto to be loaded onto the frame between the cabin and thedebris tank 42 in a transverse direction with respect to thelongitudinal axis of the elongated frame 66. The debris tank assembly 42or combination debris and water tank 142 is secured to rear portion ofthe elongated frame for convenience of loading fresh clean water andoffloading the dirty water and dewatered debris from the truck. FIG. 11also illustrates an alternative embodiment wherein the vacuum pump 20 isreplaced with a centrifugal blower assembly 78. The centrifugal blowershould be mounted closer to the point of suction 80, illustrated hereinas the open end of tube 22, due to the lower amount of vacuum but higherpositive pressure delivered by the centrifugal fan 78. This embodimentis useful for situations where a vacuum tank truck would normally beutilized such as a municipality cleaning leaves from the roadside etc.

Referring to FIGS. 12-14, one embodiment of the debris tank assembly 142is illustrated. In this embodiment, clean fresh water is stored in thesame tank as the dirty reclaimed water from the blasting head albeitthey are maintained separately. The combination debris tank assemblyincludes the tank 82, bladder 84, floating floor 86, filter bag 41,separator assembly 11 and tilt assembly 60. The tank 82 generallyincludes four side panels 84, a bottom panel 87 and a top panel 88secured together to be substantially watertight. One panel isconstructed and arranged to pivot away from the other panels to allowthe water and debris inside to be dumped. The pivoting panel may only bea portion of one of the panels so long as the aperture created is largeenough to dump the dewatered waste. The top panel of the tank 82includes hooks 90 sized to hold a filter bag 41 in an open positioninside the tank. In this manner the recovered water and debris isdirected into the filter bag whereby the solids are trapped in the bagwhile the dirty water is free to fall farther into the tank. In at leastsome embodiments an expanded metal inner cage 92 may be supported in aspaced arrangement from the side panels to allow the filter bag to pressagainst the perforations allowing the dirty liquid to separate from thesolids in a more efficient manner. The bottom panel 87 includes a valve45 sized to allow the dirty water to be drained from the tank 82. Thebottom panel also includes the tilt assembly 60, illustrated herein as ahydraulic cylinder. The hydraulic cylinder is used as is known in theart for tilting a truck bed for dumping. Other means of tilting the tankmay be utilized without departing from the scope of the invention. Abladder 84 is provided in the bottom portion of the tank for containingclean water. The bladder 84 is constructed from polymeric material suchas rubber and may contain internal strengthening cords or supports whichallow the bladder to be filled with water. Resting on the upper portionof the bladder 84 is a floating floor 86. The floating floor moves upand down within the tank as the bladder is filled or drainedrespectively. Guides in the form of rails, tracks, bearings or the likeare preferably utilized to maintain the floating floor substantiallyperpendicular with respect to the side walls. In this manner the tank,e.g. bladder can be filled with clean water for transport to the jobsite with the filter bag empty as is shown in FIG. 12. As the water fromthe bladder is used the floating floor moves down in the tank allowingthe debris and dirty water to flow into the tank as shown in FIG. 13.FIG. 14 illustrates the bladder in a substantially empty conditionwhereby the floating floor and filter bag are in an expanded condition.The dirty water that is separated from the solid debris is thus free toflow around the empty bladder. This construction thereby allows the samespace to utilized for both the clean and dirty water as well ascontaining the solid debris significantly reducing the weight of thetruck and reducing the space necessary for the equipment on theelongated frame of the truck.

All patents and publications mentioned in this specification areindicative of the levels of those skilled in the art to Which theinvention pertains. All patents and publications are herein incorporatedby reference to the same extent as if each individual publication wasspecifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference.

It is to be understood that while a certain form of the invention isillustrated, it is not to be limited to the specific form or arrangementherein described and shown. It will be apparent to those skilled in theart that various changes may be made without departing from the scope ofthe invention and the invention is not to be considered limited to whatis shown and described in the specification and any drawings/figuresincluded herein.

One skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the presentinvention is well adapted to carry out the objectives and obtain theends and advantages mentioned, as well as those inherent therein. Theembodiments, methods, procedures and techniques described herein arepresently representative of the preferred embodiments, are intended tobe exemplary and are not intended as limitations on the scope. Changestherein and other uses will occur to those skilled in the art which areencompassed within the spirit of the invention and are defined by thescope of the appended claims. Although the invention has been describedin connection with specific preferred embodiments, it should beunderstood that the invention as claimed should not be unduly limited tosuch specific embodiments. Indeed, various modifications of thedescribed modes for carrying out the invention which are obvious tothose skilled in the art are intended to be within the scope of thefollowing claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A water and debris recovery system comprising: adebris tank assembly, said debris tank assembly including a plurality ofside walls and a bottom wall, said side walls and said bottom wallsecured together in a watertight configuration, a cyclonic separatorassembly including a vacuum port for application of vacuum to saidcyclonic separator, a debris inlet for receiving a stream of liquid andsolid debris in a stream of flowing air as a result of said vacuum, saidseparator dividing said stream of flowing air from said liquid and soliddebris, said stream of flowing air vented to the atmosphere, said liquidand solid debris falling to a bottom portion of said cyclonic separator,a debris pump transferring said liquid and solid debris to said debristank, said debris pump including a barrel, a rotary valve and a motor,said barrel including a pair of end plates secured thereto to seal endportions of said barrel, said rotary valve positioned within said barreland sized to create a substantial seal between the edges of said rotaryvalve and an inner surface of said barrel and said end plates of saidbarrel to maintain said vacuum in said cyclonic separator without saidvacuum being applied to said tank assembly, said rotary valveselectively rotated by said motor to mechanically transfer said liquidand solid debris to said debris tank.
 2. The water and debris recoverysystem of claim 1 said debris tank assembly including a filter bagsupported in an open position in an upper portion of said debris tankassembly, said liquid and solid debris are allowed to fall into saidfilter bag after passing through said rotary valve.
 3. The water anddebris recovery system of claim 2 wherein said rotary valve includesthree chambers separated by three vanes, each said vane including apolymeric wiper extending around the perimeter thereof and engaging saidinner surface and said end plates, said vanes positioned so that debrismay enter the top positioned one or two chambers while the remainingchamber releases debris and fluid into said filter bag.
 4. The water anddebris recovery system of claim including a bladder in a bottom portionof said debris tank assembly, said bladder being watertight forcontaining a first liquid, said bladder including a bladder outlet forfilling and draining said bladder in a controlled manner, a bottomportion of said filter bag resting on an upper surface of said bladder,whereby as said bladder is drained an inner space of said filter baggets larger.
 5. The water and debris recovery system of claim 4including a floating floor supported on said upper surface of saidbladder, said filter bag resting on an upper surface of said floatingfloor, said floating floor moving up and down within said debris tankassembly as said bladder is filled or drained.
 6. The water and debrisrecovery system of claim 5 wherein said floating floor includes a guidefor causing said floating floor to move up and down in said debris tankwhile maintaining said floating floor parallel perpendicular to saidside walls.
 7. The water and debris recovery system of claim 6 whereinsaid guide is a plurality of rails positioned along said side walls forguiding said floating floor.
 8. The water and debris recovery system ofclaim 1 wherein said debris tank includes a top wall secured to saidside walls to enclose said debris tank assembly.
 9. The water and debrisrecovery system of claim 8 wherein at least one of said top wall andsaid side walls includes a plurality of hooks secured to an innersurface thereof, said hooks sized to hold said filter bag in an openposition inside said tank.
 10. The water and debris recovery system ofclaim 8 wherein at least a portion of one said side panel is constructedand arranged to pivot away from the other said side panels to allow saidliquid and said debris inside to be removed.
 11. The water and debrisrecovery system of claim 10 wherein said side panels include an expandedinner cage supported in a spaced arrangement from an inner surface ofsaid side panels.
 12. The water and debris recovery system of claim 10wherein said debris tank includes a tilt assembly for tilting saiddebris tank to a sufficient angle for dumping said liquid and saidsolids.
 13. The water and debris recovery system of claim 5 wherein saiddebris recovery system is secured to the elongated frame of a vehicle.14. The water and debris recovery system of claim 13 wherein saidvehicle includes an ultra-high pressure pump for receiving liquid fromsaid bladder, said ultra-high pressure pump directing pressurized liquidthrough a blast head having at least one nozzle, a shroud surroundingsaid at least one nozzle, a vacuum pump secured to said shroud forcollecting said liquid as well as the solid debris dislodged by saidliquid being expelled from said at least one nozzle, said liquid andsaid debris routed to said debris recovery system for collection.